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The country has a history, which is 5000 years old. The very first civilization of the world “The Indus Valley Civilization” nurtured here. Presently India is among one of the fastest developing countries in the world. India is the world’s fourth largest economy in purchasing power and the second fastest growing large economy. India has made rapid progress in the last decade, most notably in field of information technology. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people. Its ancient monuments and century’s old tradition is the backdrop for the world’s largest democracy. The industrial development in the recent years has brought the country within the world’s top ten nations. It is a truly an amazing country, which is changing fast.

The mighty Himalayas separate India from the mainland Asia. The Himalayas form the highest mountain range in the world, extending 2,500 km over northern India. With an area of 3.3 million sq. km, it is a subcontinent. The Indian subcontinent touches three large bodies of water and is immediately recognizable on any world map. It is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean to the south. Bounded by the Indus River in the west and the Brahmaputra in the east, the three parallel ranges, the Himadri, Himachal and Shivaliks have deep canyons gorged by the rivers flowing into the Gangetic plain. India encompasses some of the world’s most bio diverse regions. It hosts three bio diversity hotspots the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the Indo-Burmese border region. India is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

India is a country with probably the largest and most diverse mixture of races. The people of India belong to diverse ethnic groups. At various periods of India’s long history, successive waves of settlers and invaders including the Aryans, Parthians, Greeks and Central Asians came into the country and merged with the local population. This explains the variety of racial types, cultures, and languages in India. All the five major racial types Australoid, Mongoloid, Europoid, Caucasian, and Negroid find representation among the people of India. It is impossible to speak of any one Indian culture, although there are deep cultural continuities that tie its people together. India has about 15 major languages and 844 different dialects. The Sanskrit of the Aryan settlers has merged with the earlier Dravidian vernaculars to give rise to new languages. English is the language for official communication and is used for trade and politics. Hindi is spoken by about 45 per cent of the population is the national language.

The country does not have an official religion and preaches the religion of humanity and it has offered a nestling ground to religions of all hue. From Hinduism to Judaism, Islam to Christianity, Synagogue to temples and Gurudwaras, the country has ensured the flourishing of all religions. Buddha, Guru Nanak and Mahavir, the apostles of Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism respectively had India as their birthplace. Islam and Christianity came to India and made it a home for themselves. Majority of the people in the country practice Hinduism. It has the second highest Muslim population in the world. Christians, Jews, Muslim, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Hindus peacefully have been co-existing in this religious confluence for centuries. This harmony is seen in the celebration of festivals. The message of love and brotherhood is expressed by all the religions and cultures of India.

There are certain features, which makes India unique. The distinctive features that can be seen only in India are multiculturalism, religious diversity and the spirit of revolution among its people, which has brought many positive changes in the nation.